Tourism projects getting delayed

Red tape has hit the roll-out of a slew of tourism projects of Kerala Tourism, intended for marketing, upgrade of infrastructure at guest houses and tourist destinations, and Responsible Tourism initiatives.

Though 17 tourism projects estimated at ₹19.84 crore figured in the high-powered working group of tourism headed by the Secretary, Tourism, on April 14 this year, only eight projects have got government approval.

Official sources said estimates approved by the working group had been curtailed drastically by the government citing resource crunch. The projects include the 2019 edition of the Nishagandhi Dance Festival and the proposed International Music Festival. Axe has also fallen on the digital promotion of the off-season campaign and the Clint International Online Painting Contest Season II to promote Kerala, sources said.

Efforts to get the allocation restored as approved by the working group for events like Nishagandhi dance festival had not been successful, sources said. This is the first time that these many tourism projects are being kept pending since the working group was set up in the late 1990s.

The working group, which also has senior officials from marketing and planning wings of the department, is meeting on May 22. Director of Tourism P. Bala Kiran told The Hindu that all the projects of the marketing wing and Responsible Tourism Mission would be cleared at Tuesday’s meeting. The off-season campaign has commenced. “We have kept aside infrastructure projects that came up for clearance as analysis has to be done in view of the strengthening of the safety and security of the tourists,” he added.